


Worm: Out of Control

by Oldwolf



Category: Guyver, Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Wards Taylor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:08:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oldwolf/pseuds/Oldwolf
Summary: When playing games with dimensional holes, be careful what can slip through.  A Guyver Unit finds its way to Brockton Bay.  The city won't know what hit it.
Comments: 52
Kudos: 126





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The Rating is mostly because of how my stories tend to end up. Don't expect anything to show up for the first few chapters.

Taylor Annette Hebert couldn't believe what she’d just heard. It was her first night out as a Hero and she’d had the rather extreme misfortune of encountering The Dragon of Kyushu, The-Man-Who-Battled-Leviathan-Alone, Class A BAMF with Special Certifications, LUNG!

However, before she could do the smart thing (i.e. run [sneak] away [which she totally was planing on doing]) she’d heard him order his men to kill children! Never mind that such an action might actually be enough to bring the Triumvirate to town and would almost certainly result in a Kill Order, that would be down the road and wouldn’t help the dead children in the least.

&*&

Lung had just finished giving his men their orders regarding the Undersiders and was getting ready to lead them to squash the insolent rodents who had dared steal from Lung of all people when a figure stepped out of the shadows.

It was almost six and a half feet tall including the ridiculous headpiece. He, presumably, was clad completely in some sort of silvery metal.

Lung sneered at the newcomer.

&*&

Taylor could feel her nerves twitching as she walked towards the group of well-armed gangsters. She forced her voice to be calm and steady as she spoke.

&*&

The person’s voice had an odd metallic sound to it but was oddly sexless as they said, “That’s far enough Lung!”

Lung laughed as he was ineptly threatened by this newbie, “Go home little boy and I’ll let you live.”

Instead of walking away, the person seemingly calmly walked to stand in the middle of the street.

&*&

Despite everything Taylor felt mildly insulted. She knew she wasn’t anywhere near top heavy and that her armor was rather androgynous, but still being mistaken for a boy was just insulting.

When she was standing in the middle of the road she turned to the group of shocked men and slid her feet into and open fighting stance.

&*&

Lung mentally sighed, this was already taking too long. He sneered and said, “Kill him!”

He saw a shimmer on the presumed Hero’s forehead as his men raised their weapons. Then there was a sudden burst of red beams accompanied by shouts of pain from his men.

Lung looked over his shoulder and saw that all of his men were writhing on the ground, most clenching their legs, but a few, the one’s who’d been carrying automatic weapons, were clenching their arms, and he could see scorch marks on their jeans.

He turned back to the Hero who hadn’t moved.

&*&

Taylor mentally breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been sure she’d actually be able to control the staccato from her IR laser against two dozen targets. However, it looked like she managed a hundred percent.

“Looks like the armor really does respond to my will,” she thought to herself. Given that she couldn’t smirk in her armor, she instead said, “Last chance Lung. Walk away and this ends peacefully.”

She wasn’t surprised when Lung charged at her, and started to glow slightly.

She knew he was a Brute who got stronger the longer he fought and was a pyrokinetic. According to PHO it was weak to begin with, enough to let him glow slightly (which he was currently doing) or maybe light a cigarette but like the rest of him, it would grow stronger as he became a real-life fire breathing dragon. He was already almost seven feet tall as he approached her.

He sent a punch at her face with a fist that could very easily double as a side of ham.

Taylor automatically brought her left arm up and deflected the blow over her head. With him overextended, she twisted her hips and drove her fist into his sternum with as much force as she could manage.

&*&

Lung mentally blinked as he was sent flying back. He’d been hit hard in the past but he’d never been hit so hard by something that looked so relatively small. Still, he was Lung, he didn’t lose to anyone!

&*&

Taylor swallowed as she saw Lung grow another three inches and his face had started to elongate, forming the start of a proper muzzle.

She wasn’t particularly surprised when he approached her a great deal more carefully after the first pass.

She casually batted away a left jab.

Taylor found that her mind was disturbingly calm as she waited for Lung to make his next move. He already towered over and she could already see his glow increasing even as he set his feet. The young woman darted in for a quick one-two punch to the gut even as she ducked under a haymaker that might well have taken her head off, armor or no.

As she dodged backwards, Taylor idly noted that it looks like Lung’s hands had changed into claws; hardly surprising but still an unwelcome development. She slid her left foot forward a few inches and planted it as a pivot point to launch a kick into Lung’s ribs. She both felt and heard ribs break. “Oh God, that’s actually worse than in the movies,” she thought to herself as she heard the sickening wet crunch.

To her surprise, the Rage Dragon brought his arm down, trapping her leg. He pulled backwards and spun before launching her through a brick wall. Not a moment later, she reappeared only to be engulfed in a sea of flames.

After several seconds, Lung let the flames die out. However, instead of the charred remains he was expecting, the first thing he saw was a pair of glowing eyes.

Taylor was mildly surprised, but extremely grateful, that she’d barely even felt the inferno. She pulled her hands back until they were semi-cupped next to her right hip. “My turn,” she said as she twisted her arms to extend them towards Lung.

A black sphere, almost invisible in the darkness, leapt from her hands and sped towards the dragon man. It hit him in the lower stomach, completely obliterating his lower stomach and most of his mid-torso. With his lungs severely damaged, it was no wonder the giant man was rendered unconscious.

Taylor jerked spasmodically as she pitted her will against the armors. She stood over her fallen foe with her right foot upraised as she fought the armor Will to Instinct to not crush the Villain’s head under foot. Finally, after almost a full minute, she relaxed and gently placed her foot on the ground. Now that the battle fury had passed, she could just faintly detect the distinctive rumblings of a very unique motorcycle. Keeping an ‘eye’ on the downed, but still healing supervillain, she turned towards the sound of the incoming Hero.

Armsmaster pulled up to an unexpected scene. When he’d gotten the report that Lung was in a fight with a new Cape, he’d fully expected to have to pull said Cape’s fat out of the fire. To find Lung apparently unconscious with the new Cape standing over him victoriously was more than a bit surprising. He dismounted his bike and drew his halberd, but very carefully kept it in a non-threatening position. Given the complete lack of markings, along with Brockton Bay’s reputation in general, he felt he was quiet justified in his first words, “Hero or Villain?”

The hereto unnamed Cape cocked his head and Armsmaster got the distinct impression that he was arching an eyebrow under his armor, “Hero. A good guy.”

Despite the modulating effect built into the armor, Armsmaster was inclined to believe them and thus relaxed slightly, though he didn’t sheathe his halberd. He nodded, “Very good, would you be willing to give a statement of what occurred?”

“No, but I will be at the PRT building tomorrow.”

Before Armsmaster could process that it was a statement rather than a question, the Cape bent his knees slightly and jumped, disappearing into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm going to plan on posting on Saturday's. Chapters will be posted on my Patreon as they are finished.

Danny Hebert was well aware that it was late (to the point of it actually being early) but he didn’t care. He sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hands and butterflies the size of 747’s in his stomach. Hardly surprising as he was waiting for his only daughter(!) to come back from a night of trouble hunting in a city that had a plethora (yay college education!) of Villainous Capes. He knew her armor made her tougher, but it was a Father’s Intrinsic Right to be scared senseless when their child went out to Fight The Good Fight. Which was what he felt. Scared; proud but terrified. He didn’t look at the clock when he heard the latch on the door.

The Taylor that walked into the house wasn’t the Taylor of years past. She was still exceptionally tall of a teenage girl at five-eight but the slight paunch that she complained about was nothing more than a bad memory. In addition, she’d filled out considerably in the four months since The Incident where she’d acquired her armor; packing on over twenty pounds of muscle mass. Her physique wasn’t that of a bodybuilder, but it was that of a dancer or martial artist. He smiled tentatively at her, “So, how’d it go?” His stomach dropped when, instead of answering directly, she went and got a rocks glass out of the cupboard before getting the bottle of whiskey he kept in the freezer. When she sat down across from him and put the items on the table he said, “That bad?”

Taylor sighed as she opened the bottle and poured a measure into the glass. She set the bottle down without re-capping it and held the glass out to her dad.

Danny sighed as he took the glass, “Just tell me already.”

“Let me preface this by saying I’m fine and unhurt.” She sighed slightly as her dad frowned, “Dad, I need you to stay calm. I did something very, very stupid tonight, but also very, very necessary. I… I…” She sighed, “I fought and took down Lung.”

The father had been getting progressively more concerned but at his daughter’s sudden exclamation he paled dramatically. He promptly sank the whiskey in his glass and held it out.

Taylor poured more alcohol into the waiting glass as she waited for her dad to process what she’d told him.

“Lung? For God’s sake Taylor, why?”

With a sigh, the young woman said, “He was talking about killing kids dad.” Seeing the look of mixed fury and shock she nodded, “Exactly. I couldn’t have walked away; not and still be the sort of person you and mom would want me to be.”

Danny sighed, “That was a cheap shot kiddo, and unnecessary. You’re right, as much as I desperately want you to be safe, I know you couldn't walk away from that any more than you could stop breathing. So, what happens now?”

With a deep sigh, Taylor said, “Something I’d really prefer to avoid; but that’s not feasible. Not after what happened, or rather nearly happened tonight.”

Danny slowly sipped his whiskey as he listen to his daughter outline her ‘plan’. He could understand why she was less than fond of it, but he rather heartily approved.

&*&

It was just after two in the afternoon when a tall, armored figure walked into the lobby of the PRT building accompanied by a what looked like a tall man in a balaclava. The receptionist eyed them even as she carefully moved her toe to the panic button under her desk.

Taylor ignored the (somewhat) obvious nervousness of the seated receptionist as well as the way the PRT guard were eyeing her. She calmly walked up to the desk with her dad a step behind her and said, “Excuse me. I told Armsmaster last night that I would come in today and make a statement.”

The mention of the senior Hero’s name relaxed the woman by degrees (this was still Brockton fucking Bay after all), “Very good…”

“Guyver,” Taylor said at the seated woman’s pause.

“Guyver, let me check,” she said as she started typing on her computer. It only took her a few moments to find the information she needed. “Ah, here it is. Armsmaster noted that he wanted to take your statement personally.” She waved the chairs, “If you’d care to take a seat, he should be here in short order. Also, I don’t mean to offend but, the chairs have been reinforced so you should be able to safely sit; even in your armor.”

The teenager nodded as she moved to the indicated chair, she knew some Hero’s (and people in general) were extremely PR aware so the woman’s preface made since as her comment could be taken as a slight about a person’s weight. Father and daughter sat down to wait relatively patiently.

Less than ten minutes later, the leader of the Protectorate East-North-East quietly approached the seated armored figure. Inadvertently, his approach was from the side. He saw one of the orbs on Guyver’s head… twitched slightly and Guyver himself stood up followed soon by the obviously disguised man. He nodded as the newer Hero faced him, “Good afternoon Guyver and…”

Taylor said, “That can be discussed in a more private setting.”

Armsmaster arched an eyebrow under his helmet, but he could tell that something unusual was afoot.

&*&

Twenty minutes later, the father and daughter (out of armor but still masked) were sitting in a conference room with Director Emily Piggot of the PRT ENE, Armsmaster, and Miss Militia.

Taylor had retracted her armor, leaving her in a muscle shirt (which some uncouth barbarians insisted upon calling a ‘wife beater’) and denim jeans; though she had borrowed a domino mask that they apparently ordered in bulk.

Director Piggot looked at the young woman (and hadn’t that been a surprise) with barely hidden disdain. A child going out in Brockton Bay to find trouble (and with parental encouragement!) on their own was terminally reckless!

The young woman could easily see the disdain in the director’s eyes and held up her hand, “Director Piggot, I have a question for you that I need an honest answer to please.”

The short, blonde, overweight woman arched an eyebrow. While polite enough, there was a certain steel behind the young woman’s words, “That being?”

“Do you want me in the Wards?”

Of all the possible questions, that one was unexpected. She nodded slowly, eyes wide for the trap as she said, “Yes, I do. Why?”

“Then cut the fucking attitude!”

Danny blinked at his daughter’s harsh words and when he refocused a moment later, the two women were leaning over the table, aggressively glaring at each other. After a full five seconds of glaring, it became painfully obvious that neither Director Piggot nor his daughter were going to back down. He gently reached over and touched his daughter between the shoulder blades, “Taylor, honey?”

Seeing the teenager was being dealt with, Miss Militia cleared her throat, “Director Piggot?”

Both women turn to their respective partners and the rising tension was broken.

Seeing that his daughter wasn’t angry, exactly, he nodded to her and turned back to Director Piggot, “While my daughter was undoubtedly… too pointed in her words director, she does have something of a point.”

Meanwhile, Miss Militia looked at her superior and arched an eyebrow.

The overweight woman drew in a deep breath as her subordinate helped to break the conflict spiral (thank you Gerard) she and the young woman had been stuck in. Turning back to the father-daughter duo, “I… apologize if I seemed overly hostile Miss Hebert.”

Taylor likewise drew in a deep breath and waved casually, “It’s alright, not like my behavior was perfect either. Still, there’s the actual reason for this meeting.”

Emil actually smiled, “Yes, your application to join the Wards. I do feel compelled to ask, however, just why you want to join the Wards?”

The young woman snorted, “Director, there’s a major problem with that statement.”

“That being?”

“It presumes facts not necessarily in evidence. More specifically that I want to join the Wards. I do not. I am just as happy operating on my own.”

Piggot blinked, “But…”

“However,” the teenager continued, “what I want has little bearing upon the situation. What is required on the other hand will be done.”

Miss Militia nodded, “Then I would like to inquire as to why you are seeking entry to the Wards program?”

Taylor winced, “Because last night I nearly murdered Lung.”

All of the PRT people winced and Miss Militia said, “I know you went hard against Lung but…”

The young woman held up her hand to silence her elder, “I’m not talking about blowing his guts out during the fight. If he died in battle well… I wouldn’t be happy but, given everything he’s done to people, I could have lived with it. What I mean is that after the fight was done, before Armsmaster got there, I had to actively fight the armor to keep from doing something terminal to him such as crushing his skull or simply tearing his head from his shoulders.”

The flat tone of voice made the adults, sans Danny, blink.

Director Piggot cleared her throat, “Excuse me Guyver, but it sounds as if the armor is a separate, thinking entity.”

The teenager winced, “That… might be overstating the matter. Yes, the armor is aware, at least on a primal level. It isn’t sentient, certainly not self-aware. At best, its at the level of… a lizard or reptile I think. It can tell if something’s a threat and if it is, it… deals with it.”

Armsmaster leaned forward, “Deals how?”

“I won’t sugarcoat it for you, the Guyver armor is a war machine, straight up. I can override its instincts, make my attacks less lethal, but its first inclination is to kill its targets.” She sighed, “Most of the time, I’m firmly in control and can meter my strength. However, if I’m surprised, or if I’m somehow incapacitated, the armor’s… awareness will take over.”

The PRT personnel were sitting very still.

Taylor sighed, “Still, we’re getting pretty far afield of the original question.” She closed her eyes to gather herself for a moment and when they opened, the inherent stubbornness of both her parents and her family shown bright, “I can accept killing someone in the heat of battle when it cannot be avoided; but I do not want to become a murderer.”

Miss Militia nodded, “Understandable. Still, for all of our sake, it might be best if you were to explicitly state what you want out of Wards membership.”

The young woman nodded, “What I need is someone who’s willing to get in front of me; to step up and tell me before I step over any lines.”

Despite herself, Piggot blinked. In her experience, it was rare that anyone wanted someone to act as a check on them; and parahuman’s least of all. “That attitude is… commendable Guyver.”

“In that case, moving on,” Taylor said brusquely. “The next issue is that of regular patrols.” She sighed, “As much as I want to be out there protecting people, I think it would be a bad idea for me to do regular patrols, at least for now.”

Director Piggot blinked, “Not that I’m objecting mind you, but most parahumans, especially teenagers, usually want to be out and fighting.”

“Oh believe me director, I do want to be out, but if I go out in the full armor the gangs might well take it as a provocation that they would have no choice but to respond to.” She sighed, “On the one hand, it could be used as a lure if done carefully; but at least in the interim, it would likely be best if I were to stay out of the fray, barring extreme need at least.”

Miss Militia smiled behind her bandanna, “Don’t worry about it too much; it takes some time to get through basic training, Public Relations, and a few other things.”

Director Piggot nodded, “In that case, I’ll leave you to start on the paperwork.”

A/N: Until Next Time.


	3. Chapter 3

Two hours, seventeen minutes, thirty-seven seconds later (no, Taylor wasn’t counting at all), the last of the paperwork had been finished.

Taylor took a moment to massage her hand and looked at her dad as he laughed.

“The curse of doing things the legal way,” Danny said. “Paperwork and writers cramp.”

“Very true Mr. Hebert,” Miss Militia said as she walked into the room. She gathered up the materials and handed them to an office worker. “Director Piggot would like to meet with you to finalize some details.”

The Hebert’s stood as one and followed the Middle Eastern woman; Danny wasn’t the only one who was having a problem keeping his eyes at an appropriate level.

&*&

Emily Piggot stood up when her guests arrived. She didn’t like parahuman’s, but there was something… refreshing about the forthright young woman. When both the Hebert’s and Miss Militia were seated, Emily said, “Alright, I haven’t had a chance to look the paperwork over in detail as yet; so, if it’s agreeable to both of you, I’d like to start at the beginning.” Receiving a nod from father and daughter, so continued, “Very good; in that case, shall we begin with education? Where are you currently enrolled?”

Taylor shrugged, “I’m not. I was out last night to celebrate my getting confirmation that I’d passed my GED test.”

The director nodded, “That’s an issue, but not a major one.” She gave the teenager a crooked smile, “For good or for ill, associating with those of your own age group really is good for your mental health.” At the young woman’s scowl, she continued, “If you like, I’m fully willing to refer you the literature.”  
The dark haired young woman looked at the overweight director before she sighed, “Alright, if you can get me into Arcadia, or maybe Immaculata, then I can at least see if I can manage.”

Emily nodded, “And if we tried to put you into Winslow?”

“Then you get the bird as I walk out the door. That shit hole is a hard deal-breaker,” Taylor said in a flat tone.

The director blinked, “Alright… we could use a second set of eyes in Winslow, but I won’t press that matter.”

The teenager sighed as she dropped head for a moment. When she looked back up she said, “I apologize Director, but I got my powers as a direct result of that place and a sustained campaign of bullying. If I went back there, that bullying would only get worse. I might last a week before I turned it into a smoking ruin. I wouldn’t last two.”

Emily nodded, but made a note to have someone, possibly herself, talk with Shadow Stalker about the matter. She nodded, “I can work with that, and I appreciate the honesty required to acknowledge the matter. We’ll contact Arcadia on Monday to get the process started. I can’t guarantee you the class schedule you’d like, but we should be able to get you in without too much trouble.”

The young woman smiled, “Thank you Director.”

Emily waved it off, “Now, there’s a few minor issues I do need to go over with your father; mostly administrative details such as your pay, the details of benefits, and the like. You’re more than welcome to sit in and put in your two cents, or you can go and meet the rest of the Wards who are on base.”

Taylor looked at her dad who smiled brightly and nodded at his nervous looking daughter.

“Go, meet new people.” As Danny watched his understandably skittish daughter follow Miss Militia he mentally prayed to any god that was listening that the meet went smoothly.

&*&

Taylor carefully eyed Miss Militia’s deliciously toned ass as the older woman lead her to the elevator.

Hannah wasn’t completely unaware of the young woman’s attention and put a certain sway into her hips. She was actually a bit surprised to find her newest charge’s eyes were seemingly at an appropriate level as she entered the elevator. Into the growing silence, she said, “I think you’ll get along well with the Wards. By and large, they’re good kids.”

Taylor nodded hesitantly, “I’m sure. I’m just used to being something of a loner, even before…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, even thinking of Emma made her blood boil.

As they exited the elevator, Taylor walked side-by-side with her guide.

As they approached the Ward’s dorm, Miss Militia said, “When we go to enter, there’s a retina scan followed by a thirty second delay to allow the Wards to mask up.” At the young woman’s look she smiled behind her mask, “Surprising Capes tend to be a Bad Thing so we do try and keep you reasonably informed.”

The young woman smiled, “Thanks, it’s appreciated.”

“You won’t be in the database until you go through your Security Clearance Check, but those tend to go quickly for Wards; if just because you don’t have as much history that needs to be checked.”

Not much more was said until the door opened to the Wards common area.

Taylor felt herself hesitate when she saw Aegis standing just inside the door. She unconsciously licked her lips as she took him in.

The well-built young man smiled, “Hello.” He took a step forward and extended his hand, “I’m Aegis.”

The young woman mentally shook herself before she took a step forward and clasped the proffered hand, “Guyver.”

Miss Militia smiled behind her mask, “Alright, I’ll leave you to their tender mercies,” she said with a teasing note in her voice.

The Wards leader nodded respectfully to his superior, “Yes ma’am.”

Taylor resolutely told her nerves to go away!! as Miss Militia walked out the door.

Carlos tilted his head and turned slightly, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.”

The young woman walked side-by-side with her new team leader (and that thought was going to take some getting used to) into a large, open area.

To one side, was a hallway; opposite that was an entertainment center with a couch and several chairs arrayed around it, one of which contained a blonde girl. There was also a small door which presumably lead to the bathroom next to a computer with several monitors that had a young man with light brown hair sitting in front of it.

Aegis called out, “Hey Kid, anything interesting?”

“Nope,” the young man said without turning around.

“Then come meet our new team member.”

The young man whipped around, his eyes wide. His jaw dropped slightly when he saw the tall, well-muscled woman standing next to Carlos. “Ugh,” he said oh-so-intelligently.

Taylor smiled as she saw the look of stupefaction on the young man’s face. The domino mask she wore didn’t do much to hide her face, so she smiled as she took off her glasses and then removed the mask, “Hi, I’m Taylor.”

The seated teen shook his head, “Hi… uh, I’m Chris, aka, Kid Win.”

Space seemed to warp and suddenly there was a four foot tall blonde female standing in front of Taylor, “And I’m Missy, otherwise known as Vista.” She looked at the open look on the older girls face and nodded, “It’ll be nice to have another real girl on the team.”

Taylor arched an eyebrow at that comment.

Aegis took off his helmet and shook his head ruefully, “I’m Carlos. Shadow Stalker isn’t the most… personable of folks.”

Missy snorted, “What you mean is that she’s a royal…”

Carlos cleared his throat to cut off his tiny teammate, “Anyways, you’ll get to meet her soon enough. She’s scheduled for a patrol with Clockblocker soon.”

Speak of the bitch and she shall appear. Shadow Stalker walked out of the hallway, “Hey, what’s up with the… Hebert! What are you doing here?!?”

The tone was more than enough to key Taylor in on who was behind the scowling woman mask. “Hess,” she hissed…


	4. Chapter 4

Taylor’s eyes narrowed even as she said, “Guyver!”

Sophia Hess was many things, most of them unpleasant. However, one thing that she was not was stupid. She knew enough not to carry her crossbow loaded while in HQ. That was very nearly the only thing that kept her from shooting Hebert out of instinct.

The Wards blinked as there was a bright flash. When it cleared, a six and a half foot tall, armored figure had replaced Taylor; and was standing in an open guard.

Before things could escalate further, the space between the two expanded.

Aegis took a step back and mentally wished that Gallant were there, he had a gift for deescalation. “Alright, so, you obviously know each other. What do you both say we calm down and discuss this like rational people?”

Sophia nodded slowly as she mentally did an inventory of her available weapons and came up critically short even as she nodded.

Aegis turned his attention to the suddenly armor clad female, “Guyver, please stand down.”

“Not so long as she’s still armed,” came in the metallicly modulated voice.

At the console, Chris looked at the armored figure, his eyes growing wide. He suddenly whipped his head around and looked at the screen, then whipped it back around to look at… Guyver? “Lung, you took down Lung last night,” he squeaked in a shocked tone of voice. That brought everyone up short and made the Tinker the focus of everyone except the new girl. He cleared his throat, bringing his voice down an octave or so to its normal tone, “Someone got a cell video of your fight with Lung, even to the point of you blowing his guts out.”

Under her mask, Sophia was growing steadily paler. Not only had the weakling suddenly grown a spine after she’d quit Winslow, but somehow she’d become strong enough to beat what was probably the most powerful Cape in the Bay, or at least he had been… She slowly raised her hands, “I’m not going to cause any trouble.”

Carlos eyed Shadow Stalker for a moment before saying, “I promise, I will not allow you to be attacked.”

The orb on the top of Guyver’s head twitched in Aegis’ direction for a moment before there was another bright burst of light, and once more, Taylor was standing there. She wasn’t in a combat stance, but she was still visibly on edge and scowling.

Aegis nodded, “Vista, relieve Kid Win on Console. Kid, disarm Shadow Stalker and escort her to Containment Cell Two.” He saw Missy frown as she obeyed his order and made a mental note to have a talk with her later.

Kid Win carefully took Stalker’s crossbow, her quiver, and the baton she carried for close in work.

Taylor moved aside so she could watch Sophia as she walked out of the room followed by Kid Win, who’d stacked the weapons next to the computer bank.

Carlos swallowed, now came the dangerous part. “Guyver, I know you aren’t carrying any weapons, but I need you to come with me to Containment Cell Two.” He held his hands up as the tall brunette’s eyes narrowed, “It’s standard procedure. Separate all parties so we can do an impartial investigation.”

The tall girl looked at the boy who was going to be her Team Leader for a moment before nodding, “Are you going to restrain me?”

Aegis snorted, “If you could solo Lung, there’s no point. However, I will ask you to stay next to or in front of me,” he added with a rye grin.

Taylor nodded slowly, still scowling. She settled the mask back on her face before moving ahead of Aegis. The room she was lead to was… spartan to put it mildly. An eight by eight square with a small fold out bed, a commode, a sink, and a tiny fold out shelf. The room was light with defused lighting and was an almost uniform white. She sighed, she couldn't see any cameras but it was pretty much a given that they were there. She sighed as she sat down on the bed, her knees and torso at a perfect ninety degree angle from her hips. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and settled into a meditative trance. An unknown time later, her eyes snapped open as the door opened.

Miss Militia was standing in the doorway, “Director Piggot would like to talk with you.”

The younger woman rose to her feet smoothly, with no indication that she’d spent several hours immobile. She smiled somewhat naturally, her meditation had helped to calm her fury. At least enough to let her think clearly.

Nothing was said between the door to the cell and the door to Director Piggot’s office.

Emily Piggot was a woman who had little time for nonsense or the drama that most Capes tended to indulge in and her stern visage made her view perfectly clear. She waited until both the other women were seated before she said, “Very well Guyver, we have looked into the matter regarding Shadow Stalker and yourself. She’s been extremely forthcoming about the activities that she and her cohorts have been up to. The information has already been forwarded to the Brockton Bay PD and prosecutor for further investigation and charges.”

That was enough to make Taylor blink, “And why, precisely, is she being so helpful?”

The director gave the young woman a crooked smile, “She seems to be of the belief that we were going to throw her to the wolves regardless to appease you.”

“And were you?”

At that blunt question, Emily scowled, “No. I’m interested in the truth, even if that meant alienating you.” She was rather surprised when Guyver smiled widely.

“Good,” Taylor said with a firm nod. Seeing the surprise in the other woman’s eyes, she continued, “If you really were willing to sacrifice her just to keep me happy, I wouldn’t be able to trust that in the future, you wouldn’t sacrifice myself or someone actually innocent to appease another strong Cape.” She sighed, “And what are you going to do with Sophia herself?”

Emily leaned back in her chair as she sighed, “Honestly, that’s one of the major things I wanted to talk to you about. What she’s already confessed to and we’ve had time to confirm, she should be on her way to Juvenile Detention with a high probability of prison afterwards. The problem being, even with Lung out of commission, the Protectorate is critically short on Capes. Even with the Wards, we barely have parity with the E88 and there are several that I wouldn’t dare send them against. Hookwolf already has a Birdcage sentence hanging over his head; and both Cricket and Stormtiger are particularly brutal. While I would like to keep Shadow Stalker, I’m not about to push you too hard on the matter.”

The young woman had been nodding along as she listened to the director’s points, “And how is Shadow Stalker taking this?”

Emily sighed, “That’s one of the other reasons I’m hoping you’ll be willing to be lenient with her. She seems to have had a wake-up call. Unless something happens to shake her out of her mindset, then even after she gets out of prison for what she’s done against you, she’ll go back to her old ways until either she upsets someone powerful enough that they simply kill her or she goes to far and ends up with a ticket to the Birdcage.” She looked the young woman square in the eye, “I’ll be straight with you Guyver. I don’t much care for Parahumans; too many seem like children with machine guns welded to their hands. However, I have a responsibility to not only keep this city safe, but to see to it that those under my command grow to be not only the best trooper they can be, but also the best person they can be.”

Taylor looked at the director for a moment, looking for any signs that she was being dishonest or anything similar. Finally she nodded, “I’ll want to talk to Shadow Stalker first. If she’s willing to change, I’ll help her. If she’s not…” She gave a fatalistic shrug.

Emily smiled, “That’s the most I can ask for; and honestly, much more than I was expecting.”

&*&

Shadow Stalker sat in the interrogation room bored out of her mind. She’d told the interviewer everything; at least everything that she could remember. Even the prank they’d pulled before winter break that’d been enough to drive Hebert out of Winslow. She knew The Pig was going to throw her under the bus. Hell, she’d been looking to get rid of her from the beginning. Sacrificing her to get a cape who could go toe-to-toe with Lung? That just made it a foregone conclusion. When the door opened, she was surprised to see Hebert walk through wearing one of those ridiculous domino masks. She smirked, “So, come to gloat?”

Taylor silently walked up, pulled the chair away from the table and seated herself in it. She looked at Sophia dispassionately, “No, not gloat. To talk to you.”

“Oh, and what do you want to talk about?”

“You. Or more specifically, your future.”

That was enough of a shock to make Sophia blink, “Oh? I figured I was on my way to Juvie.”

“That’s one option,” Taylor acknowledged. “On the other hand, there are other possibilities as well.”

“Like what?”

“Like, if you can change. If you can go from being a petty, violent little brat to being an actual Hero.”

“Hey! I’m a hero damn it!”

Taylor leaned back in her chair, “Not from where I’m sitting. All I’ve seen from you is someone who needs a crowd at her back to torment a scrawny girl. Tell me, why did you decide to become a vigilante in the first place? If all you cared about was money, you could have robbed the various gangs and business’. Was it just because it let you hurt people without anyone in authority saying anything? Do you care about anyone besides yourself?”

A fire appeared in Sophia’s eyes as the twerp tore into her. “FUCK YOU! I got an older brother and a baby sister. You think I want them growing up in a city with goddamned Nazi? Every day my mom goes to work, I’m terrified that she’ll run across a group of skinheads who wanna fuck up a nigger.” She was brought up short at the smile the came over Hebert’s face, “What?”

“That was what I wanted to hear.” She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, “Here’s the deal. Piggot’s willing to put you on a suspended sentence with me as your Probation Officer. You not only go to therapy, but you work with your therapist. You turn States Evidence against Blackwell, Emma, your former Probation Officer, and everyone else.” She stared the black girl in the eye, “Understand this Sophia. I’m willing to help you get better, to grow in to the sort of person that your baby sister can look at with pride; a Hero in both name and deed. This is your last chance. You ditch your partner on patrol, you go to Juvie. You…” She paused when Sophia held up her hand.

“I get it. I even think about putting a toe outta line and away I go.” She looked at the girl she had always dismissed as a weakling, “This isn’t just some fucked up trick to get back at me?”

“Not really. I hate and loathe the person you were. However, since I gained the armor, I’ve had to grow a fair amount myself. What I’ve heard here makes me think that you might actually be able to change. I can’t say you and I’ll ever be good friends, but I think we might be able to at least work together.” Taylor held out her hand, “So, what do you say?”

“I say we’re both crazy,” Sophia responded as she took the white girl’s hand.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a second chapter in one day.
> 
> As a general note, I'm looking for _honest_ suggestions for a title. If you have one, feel free to drop me a line.

After her talk with Heb… Taylor, Sophia had been escorted to a conference room with Heber… Taylor!, Miss Militia, and Piggy.

Emily glared at her troublesome Ward for a moment, “Alright Shadow Stalker, I’ll need to have a proper meeting with your mother to go over details and make things official but this will do for making sure we are all on the same page. Let me be perfectly frank Shadow Stalker, in your time here, you have gone as far as you can to make yourself a nuisance; disregarding the rules as much as you could without technically violating the wording of your probation. You have shunned your teammates and brought disharmony to the Wards. By all that is right, I should simply throw you to the wolves with a song in my heart! However, Guyver seems to believe you can change, that you can be a better person and based on what I’ve seen since you encountered her, I’m somewhat inclined to agree with her.” She pointed at Hebert, “Right there is your very best friend. She can violate your parole on a whim. There may be a PRT Agent monitoring the situation, but it will be Guyver who holds the true power. Am I in anyway unclear?”

Sophia had been watching Piggy through the whole thing. She’d heard that the Pig had been a soldier before becoming a desk jockey. She’d never put much faith in that rumor. Looking at Piggot now, the intensity, the fire in the woman’s eyes, she started to. Sophia nodded, “Yes ma’am.”

Emily mentally blinked, that was the first time Stalker had given her any sort of honorific without prompting or sneering it. Nonetheless, she nodded, “Very good. Since Track season is over, you are to be confined to PRT HQ at any time that you are not either at school or in transit. Any outing, activity, or the like must first be cleared by Guyver. Putting so much as one foot out of the direct line of transit between Winslow and HQ will require explanation to not only Guyver herself but to the PRT Agent monitoring who is not going to be inclined to put up with much; especially after I get through with your current Probation Officer.”

Under her mask, Sophia started to pale as she realized just how much power was being given to a person who she had tried to push down for over a year.

Piggot nodded, “Guyver, is there anything you would like to add before we dismiss?”

Taylor shook her head, “No Director. I’ll have to talk at length with my charge, but that’s between us.”

With that, the meeting broke up, the director heading back to her office whilst the other three headed for the Wards Section.

Aegis was once more waiting for them just inside the door. Behind his mask, Carlos raised an eyebrow. He nodded to Miss Militia, “Ma’am, Guyver; Shadow Stalker, it’s a bit of a surprise to see you here.”

The black girl snorted, “Yeah, no shit.”

Miss Militia returned her subordinate’s nod, “Aegis. Are the rest of the Wards assembled?”

“They are ma’am,” the team leader said with a nod.

“Good,” Miss Militia said as she strode into the area.

Standing in the area were the current Ward’s team for Brockton Bay.

Miss Militia looked at her gathered charges, “Good afternoon. As most of you are already aware, we gained a new Ward today. Regrettably, she and Shadow Stalker already knew each other in their civilian lives. This is between them. If they want to talk about it, they will. I do not want them badgered for details. You may politely ask but if they decline, that is to be the end of the matter. Understood?”

There were nods from the assembled teens.

“Good,” Miss Militia said. “Now, it’s too late for the afternoon patrol so that is canceled. Aegis, I’ll need to speak with you regarding the patrol schedule tomorrow.”

The Wards team leader nodded, “Right ma’am.”

Taylor glanced at the clock on the wall, “Look, it’s already late. My dad’s going to be getting concerned as is. Can we do the meet-and-greet tomorrow?”

Looks were exchanged and Aegis said, “That sounds good. In fact, if everyone’s agreeable, we’ll plan a proper party to welcome you.”

Clockblocker’s grin could clearly be heard, “Sounds good to me boss man.”

Missy eyed both Shadow Stalker and the new girl cautiously. They were obviously still weary of each other but they weren’t actively hostile. Long, bitter experience meant that she wasn’t about to ask Sophia about it; the new girl, Taylor (?), maybe she would be willing to shed some light on it.

Aegis said, “Alright, so party tomorrow afternoon. Everyone, you know the drill, bring supplies as usual.” He eyed Dennis, “And Clock? If you bring any of those movies, you’ll be on console duty until you graduate to the Protectorate. Clear?”

“Boss, I don’t know what you’re…,” was as far as Clockblocker got before the glare from Aegis stopped him.

It took Taylor a moment before she realized what sort of movies Aegis was talking about and blushed scarlet.

&*&

Up in the office of Director Emily Piggot, a surprisingly relaxed meeting was taking place.

Naomi Hess looked at the overweight, blonde woman and sighed, “So my little Sophia has been getting into trouble on your watch.” In the wrong tone, that statement could (justifiably) be accusatory. However, it was merely resigned.

Emily nodded, “Correct Mrs. Hess.”

“But instead of throwing the book at her, you’re going to see if this ‘wake up call’ takes?”

Another nod, “Also correct.”

“How can I help?” Naomi looked the director in the eye, “I know my little Sophia has issues. Issues I’d hope she’d grow out of. If this might help her learn without someone getting injured or killed, I’ll do all I can.”

Emily smiled at the resigned mother, “At the moment, Sophia’s under close observation. If she’s not at school, she’s effectively confined to base. What we need you to do is to keep an eye on her. You’ll receive a copy of her schedule, including when she should be home. If you notice anything strange, suspicious, or just out of place, call us. I don’t actually want to send Sophia to prison. So, if she looks like she’s going to do something stupid, if we can intervene early, it’ll likely end better for her.”

The mother nodded, she wasn’t sure how much she believed the other woman’s words, but it didn’t hurt to give her the benefit of the doubt.

&*&

Danny Hebert sighed as he sank into the kitchen chair. He and Taylor had just gotten home from a long day at the PRT; much longer than anyone had expected. “So, I had a meeting with Director Piggot earlier. She told me about your little… run-in with…” Danny cleared his throat, he wasn’t sure how much he could say.

Taylor nodded, “Yeah, her.”

“The director and I came to a settlement of sorts, pending to your approval.” He grinned, “She was very, very eager not to upset you for some odd reason.”

The teenager snorted, “So, how bad is it?”

“Not at all actually,” Danny said. “She was only working for the director for a few months prior to you leaving Winslow. Her former PO is going to be facing an impressive array of charges. Her trust fund is going to be rolled into yours as of today. And we get a decent cash settlement from her employer; through appropriate cutouts to protect both of us.”

“And of course,” Taylor added, “she is on probation with me as her watcher.”

Father looked at daughter, “Are you comfortable with that Taylor?”

The teen nodded, “Yeah dad, I am. I told the director that if she wants to reform herself, I’ll help her.”

Danny smiled, “You’re being a lot more reasonable about this than I would have been.”

A shrug was the answer, “When you can kill someone with a negligent blow, it tends to mature you quickly.”

The man nodded, he’d seen the remains of the rat that had startled Taylor into discovering her forehead laser. He eyed the clock, just after nine on a Friday night, “What do you say to having Chinese delivered?”

“Sounds good, but didn’t our usual place close last month?”

“Yeah, but I’ve heard some good things about Canton Star from the guys.”

“Beats blind calling someplace. You have the number?”

“Yup, I’ll make the call.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit short, but it felt like a natural end point.

The next day, Taylor walked into the Wards area with a pair of twelve packs of soda in each hand just after noon. She was somewhat surprised to find that only Vista, actually Missy since she was out of costume, was there. “Hi Missy,” she said as she walked to the kitchenette to deposit the drinks.

“Afternoon Taylor,” came back from the twelve year old who was sitting at the table a textbook in front of her. She looked up and saw that Taylor was again wearing a muscle shirt that showed off her truly impressively toned arms and shoulders.

Taylor walked to the table and said, “Dare I ask what you’re working on?”

“Ugh, English. I know that grammar and everything is important, but that doesn’t make deciphering it any easier!”

The older of the two laughed, “Well, as fate would have it, my mother was an English professor.” She got a faraway look in her eye for a moment before she shook herself and continued, “If you want, I’ll see if I can help.”

“Please! I’m pretty sure I’m making this hard than it has to be but…”

Taylor nodded, “On a side note, where’s Sophia?”

Missy looked at her watch, “She’s got home time. She should be here in half an hour or so.”

Another nod, and the two went to work.

A bit over fifteen minutes later, Missy was blinking, “Okay, now things are making sense. Why didn’t the book put it that way?”

Taylor shrugged, “The textbook was designed for your average student. You are anything but average. You were making it more difficult because you’re much smarter than what they were expecting.”

Missy scowled at the textbook for a moment before she said, “I have some math, you want to help?”

“I’ll help you but I won’t do it for you, clear?”

There was a laugh and then, “What about you? Where’s your homework?”

“I passed my GED, even though they’re going to try to get me into Arcadia.”

Missy nodded, “So, I hate to ask but…”

Taylor held up her hand, “I don’t want to talk about Sophia.” She smiled at the younger girl, “I know you’re curious, but…” She shuddered, “I don’t like thinking about it.” She looked over at Missy, “We have a long and unpleasant history together. I’m trying to help her become a better person; but that doesn’t make our history anything I want to think about never mind talk.”

The younger Ward mentally noted the look in Taylor’s eyes and nodded, “Alright.”

As Missy exchanged her books, Taylor took a moment to calm and center herself.

Taylor stood up and said, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Did I see you bring in a box of cherry cola?”

A chuckle, “Yeah, I’ll bring you a can.”

“Thanks.” Missy focused on her books but looked up when Taylor set a can on the table. She looked at the older girl and arched an eyebrow.

Taylor smiled as she put down her own glass of water. “I don’t drink soft drinks as a general rule. At most, it’s sports drinks.” She waved at her arm as she sat down, “I’ve put far too much effort into this to ruin it.”

The younger Ward took a moment to look over the teenager. “So, how long have you been working out?”

“Only a few months. But, a few months of high intensity training, proper eating, and well… I wouldn’t be surprised if I got a boost from my power.”

Missy nodded as she returned her attention to the math problems in front of her. She looked up when Taylor stood up and got down on the ground next to the table.

Taylor quickly got herself into what looked like a standard push-up position, but when lifting herself, she pushed hard enough that her hands left the ground. She clapped her hands and brought them back down in time to keep from face-planting.

The preteen arched an eyebrow, “Do I want to know what you’re doing?”

“I’ve heard them referred to as ‘marine’ push-ups. They require fast hands in addition to upper body strength.”

“And you object to simply sitting and talking?”

Taylor’s blush was hidden by her exertion, “I haven’t had many people to talk to for well over a year now and for the last few months, if I haven’t been studying, I’ve been exercising. Just sitting is anathema to me now.”

Missy nodded and went back to her work. Just two push-ups later, she sighed, “I hate to ask, but could you please not do those? It’s distracting me and I’d like to get my homework done before the party starts.”

Taylor chuckled as she stood up, “Sure, not a problem.”

The preteen returned the smile that didn’t look to be faked at all, “Thank you.”

The teenager sat down opposite her new teammate and watched as the younger girl made short work of what looked like at least high school grade math, if not a bit higher. “Impressive,” she said.

Missy smiled at the honestly given comment. Taylor didn’t seem the sort to hold her age against her, “Thanks. Since I got my powers I can understand numbers; I can’t always explain them, but understand them? Usually.”

Taylor smiled and was silent for the few minutes that Missy required.

“And, fucking, done,” Missy exclaimed as she slammed the math book shut. She joined Taylor’s laughter as she packed up her things, “I’m guessing you haven’t seen your room yet?”

The older girl blinked, “I have a room?”

Missy chuckled, “Guess that answers that. Com’on, I’ll show you.”

Taylor followed down a corridor that had four doors on each side.

“The rooms are reconfigurable. They keep a few spares in case we have unexpected visitors from another city but we have a lot of spare space that’s simply unaccessible. I think the higher-ups use it for storage.”

Each of the doors had a name on it. Missy opened the one marked ‘Vista’ and tossed her book bag in side before she pointed to the one furthest down the hall. ‘Guyver’ was stenciled on it. Taylor opened the door to a ten-by-ten room with matte white walls with a small desk and a bed.

Missy said, “You’re more than welcome to customize your room as you would; with some… practical limitation.” At Taylor’s arched eyebrow, “Remember, we do work for a Law Enforcement Agency.”

Taylor nodded, “Clock?”

The shorter of the pair giggled, “No, that rule apparently came with the Original Wards. Someone apparently realized that they were employing teenagers and as such, some things needed to be explicitly pointed out.”

Another nod and Taylor took a second look around the room, mentally placing a heavy bag and maybe a small weight set; it would depend on how the general fitness area looked. With that, Taylor led the way back to the main room.

Missy said, “So, want to watch TV or something?” Seeing her teammate scrunch up her face, she giggled again and said, “So that’s out.”

Once more seated around the table, Taylor noted, “So, I’ve done my homework. You’re the longest active Ward in the ENE; just over two years, right?”

The blonde nodded, “Yeah. Why?”

“I am many things; proud, stubborn, headstrong, and a number of other less pleasant things. But I’m also willing to learn, especially from someone who’s been at this a heckuvalot longer than I have.”

Missy sat up straighter in her chair, which still only put her at boob level with Taylor, and said, “I’ll be happy to help.”

The two talked for a few minutes until the door opened to allow a not-necessarily welcome face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than I'd have liked, but I've made you folks wait too long as is.
> 
> Enjoy.

Sophia opened her mouth to make a scathing comment to the half-pint but Hebert looked at her and arched an eyebrow. Something in that look spoke to Sophia; beyond the implicit threat of Juvie. She felt her gut clench slightly. Almost like when she… “Oh hell no,” she thought to herself. She couldn't find Hebert of all people attractive! She couldn't! Sophia noticed that her gaze was lingering on Taylor’s lips and she shook herself. She said, “So, what are you two up to?”

Taylor smiled at Sophia’s tone, or rather that lack of scorn, derision, or acid. “Good morning,” she said cautiously, “we were just talking about the cape and crime scene. Care to join us?”

Sophia eyed the two carefully as she walked up to the table.

“There’s soda’s available if you’re interested,” Taylor noted.

The black girl snorted, “No thanks. I work my ass off, I’m not about to make it harder. What?” She looked at the two giggling girls.

Missy smiled, “It’s funny, but Taylor here said something along the same lines.”

Sophia blinked, “Really?”

Taylor waved at her exposed arms, “I’m not worried about track or anything like that, but yeah, I’ve spent too much time getting into fighting trim to spoil it.”

Sophia took a seat as she took in her ex-punching bag. Heb… Taylor still kept her curly black hair long, but she was wearing a muscle shirt that left her arms and shoulders exposed; and they were exceptionally well muscled. “So, you’re a Tinker?”

“Changer actually,” Taylor responded. “Or at least I’m pretty sure that’s the closest classification for me. I didn’t build the armor, I simply Change into it.”

The black girl nodded, she’d wondered how Taylor’d gotten into her armor so quickly. “So, any clue on when you’ll be out there with us?”

“Not for a while,” Taylor said. “I’m going to need to get with Marketing to get a regular costume; the armor’s overkill for day-to-day operations.” At the confused looks on the other two, she said, “It’d be too easy for someone like the E88 to take it as a challenge.”

Sophia blinked, “Huh?”

Missy said, “I hate to agree with her,” she jerked her thumb at the dark skinned girl, “but in this case, I have to.”

Taylor smiled as Sophia glared at the younger girl, “Okay, you both know I took down Lung on my own and without a great deal of trouble or collateral damage, right?” When they nodded, she continued, “Now, how do you think the Empire would respond if, say, Lung himself were to take a stroll Downtown at midday in full costume?”

Missy winced, “A walk through the heart of their territory? They’d come at him in force, they’d have to or everyone else would think they were too weak to protect their territory.” She blinked, “And you think that because you took down Lung, they’d react the same way to you?”

“Not so much ‘think’ as ‘am worried about’,” Taylor said with a nod.

Sophia snorted, “Fuck ‘em. You take the lot of ‘em. I sat down and watched that video. You were holding back the entire time.”

“Yes I was,” Taylor said levelly. “On the other hand, while I could probably beat them, the battlefield would be…”

Another wince from the blonde Ward was all the answer that was needed.

Changing the subject, Sophia said, “So, you weren’t this jacked back at the shit hole. Mind swapping workout tricks?”

As the two older girls started talking, Missy quietly got up and went to her room.

Taylor blinked when Missy reappeared with a notebook and pencil, “What are you up to?”

The youngest of the three snorted, “You two are, beyond a doubt, the most fit people I know. If you’re going to talk exercise regimes, I’m damned well going to take notes!”

That shocked a laugh out of both Sophia and Taylor.

&*&

The talk between the three females slowly wandered from workout techniques, to places to get decent combat training, to the sort of banal inanities that fill peoples lives (though romance in general and boys specifically were avoided).

Taylor was looking at Missy with an expression of shocked amused horror as the younger girl finished telling a story. “And worst part,” Missy said with a giggle, “is that it wasn’t even Clock who was behind the prank.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Taylor said in a near whisper.

“Turns out, it was Miss Militia.”

Sophia’s eyes were wide, “Miss ‘Hard-Ass’ Militia!?”

“Yup,” Missy said with a twinkle in her eye. “Remember, she’s one of the Original Wards. She’s got a wicked sense of humor, if you’re lucky enough for her to trust you,” she added with a pointed look at Sophia who scowled.

Taylor cleared her throat and gave Missy a moderately severe look.

The preteen scrunched up her face but nodded. “Anyways, Dennis will probably be bringing movies to watch. There won’t be much actual watching, it’s more an excuse but, well… he’s a boy and his sense of humor is… particular. Be prepare for some… well, odd movies.”

“Just so long as he doesn’t bring those Blue Girl ones again,” Sophia said with a shudder. At Taylor’s look she simply said, “Tentacles.”

Taylor didn’t quiet understand, but she also got the impression she didn’t want to know.

Before the conversation could continue, the door opened to let Dean and Carlos in. Carlos was carrying several containers of cupcakes whilst Dean had a pair of plastic bags filled with chips. Both of the young men were more than a little surprised to see Missy sitting at the same table as Sophia without… well, anything unpleasant.

Dean smiled and said, “Ladies,” with a nod as he continued to the kitchenette.

Carlos followed somewhat slowly. He mentally winced when he heard Missy make a cutting comment to Sophia but was surprised when Taylor gave her a moderately severe look and the younger female apologized. He thought to himself, “She’s got that same Look as my mom has. I’d love to know how they do it. It’s got to be a Female Thing though. Maybe this won’t turn out as bad as I thought it might,” he added with a mental chuckle.

Taylor smiled as the two guys joined them, both had a soft drink in hand. She carefully sipped her glass of water, “So, we’re just one short?”

Before anyone could respond, the door opened and a redheaded young man walked in carrying a stack of DVD’s. “Never fear, Clockblocker is here,” he said in a tone of voice that simply oozed cheesiness. He laughed at the deadpan look his newest team member gave him, “Ah, look, ‘tis fair maiden! I presume you are the formidable Guyver!”

At that point, Taylor laughed. The young man had the air of someone who was always ready to laugh (especially at himself) and eager to make other people laugh.

Carlos sighed and shook his head resignedly, he knew Dennis meant well, and he was usually good about timing, but he could be a bit much sometimes. “So, what’d you bring?”

“I bring, for your viewing pleasure, Crying Freeman, Project A-ko, and Ranma 1/2, in addition to the full Babylon 5 series.”

Taylor’s eyebrow arched as she’d only ever heard of Babylon 5. “Well, let’s get this party started then!”

Dean felt his stomach dropping out of his body; the prankster had far too much amusement in his emotions for this to go over well…


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than I'd have liked, but I'm not going to make you folks wait any longer than I have to.

Several hours later, a certain prankster was grinning like a loon. Carlos hadn’t (quite) made good on his threat, but that was simply because the redhead had pointed out (accurately) that it hadn’t slipped into outright hentai, only ecchi. Well, that and the fact that Taylor hadn’t been upset about the (frequent) boob shots in Ranma or the sex in Crying Freeman. Though admittedly, the latter had prompted a rather in-depth discussion of if Freeman himself would be classified as a Combat Thinker.

During the entire party, Carlos had kept Sophia in the corner of his vision. In the six months since she’d joined the Wards, Carlos had seen her unpleasant side wholly too often. However, every time she looked like she was about to make a nasty comment, she would look at Taylor and either close her mouth or say something else.

Dean however, was getting a headache. On the one hand, Dennis’ emotions indicated that his prank wasn’t quite done. On the other, Sophia’s emotions were… confused. It was rather distinctly like she was actively fighting her own response to something.

&*&

Taylor wasn’t sure if she should laugh or punch Dennis. The redhead had insisted on watching a particular episode of B5; the episode in question featured a psychotic Kill Bot that bore at least a superficial resemblance to her armor, thus her indecision…

Dennis swallowed slightly at the look Carlos was giving him. He foresaw a great deal of Console duty, ‘combat sparring’ (IE putting him on a mat with Sophia (or Missy) who had full permission to kick his ass), and maybe even (sigh) another dose of Sensitivity Training! Then he saw the evil grin on Taylor’s face and he went even paler as she reached out and grabbed him by the front of the shirt.

Dean blinked as he saw the malicious amusement in his new team member.

The redhead didn’t time-stop Taylor on the grounds of whatever she did to him, he more than had coming. He braced as she pulled him to his feet while standing up herself. He winced as she cocked her right arm to slug him. His mind blanked when she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Missy was the first one to get in and broke out laughing. The rest of the Wards soon joined her

The blush on Dennis’ face was atomic as his team started laughing, and then he joined them realizing he’d been counter-pranked! He carefully took a step back when Taylor let go of him and went into a deep bow, “Well played Mistress Taylor, well played indeed!”

Sophia had never been more grateful for her dark skin tone, which made it effectively impossible for anyone to see that she was blushing. Even she wasn’t sure if it was because of amusement or jealousy (damn it!).

Taylor sketched out as much of a curtsy as she could given that she was wearing jeans. “Thank you good sir,” she replied with a huge smile on her face.

&*&

The party had started to wind down after that, when Dean announced that he was going to head out, Taylor decided to join him.

In the elevator to the basement, Taylor said, “Don’t think I didn’t notice your efforts and thank you.”

He smiled, “You’re welcome. You don’t much like crowds do you?”

She worried her lower lip for a moment and looked anywhere but at Dean before, “I’ve never been very social, and well, I was bullied for over a year so…”

“You’re going to be working on your People Tolerance for a while,” he said with a gentle smile. “I was like that when I first got my powers. The only one of us I was worried about would have been Sophia and you’ve got her on her best behavior. Better than anything I’ve seen out of her since she joined.” He reached out and gently gripped her shoulder, “If you want, I’ll be happy to give you The List that I made up of viable excuses for getting away from people, even if one of the most basic ones might not work as well for you.”

Taylor looked at him, cocked her head slightly to the left, and arched her eyebrow.

“The simplest is to say you need to use the bathroom. But there’s the time honored tradition of females going to the bathroom together for mutual protection.”

She blinked, “Valid point.” She smiled shyly as she looked at him, “I honestly can’t tell you how much I appreciated your help.”

The gallant young man smiled, “That’s what teammates are for.”

With that, the chime went off, cutting off further conversation.

&*&

As she rode the bus home, Taylor was smiling even as she kept a surreptitious eye on the pair of skinheads.

The Neo-nazis didn’t try anything of course; Kaiser himself would eviscerate any member of the Empire Eighty-Eight that caused trouble on either the buses or at the hospitals. Both public transportation and medical facilities had been declared safe havens by an alliance of All-Father and Marquis. The decree had been strong enough to survive both the former's death and the latter being Birdcaged.

Still and all though, Taylor was a young woman in Brockton Bay and certain habits were just basic self-preservation.

There was a brief moment of tension when a group of four Asian guys wearing the red and green of the ABB got on the bus. They and the skinheads glared at each other for a moment, both sided nodded curtly, then they went about ignoring each other.

Taylor had to resist the temptation to giggle and couldn't resist the urge to smile when one of the skinheads stood up to give an elderly black woman his seat. Fortunately or otherwise, her stop was not long thereafter. She casually strolled a short bit from the bus stop before she broke into an easy jog for the rest of the trip home.

Danny Hebert was sitting watching television when his daughter walked in. He smiled at her as he put down his drink; Taylor had forced him to give up the beer. “So, how’d it go?”

“It went surprisingly well,” she replied with a grin. “I even managed to get in a prank on Clock.”

The old man laughed as he listened to the story, “So, do I need to get my shotgun ready?”

Taylor laughed, “Dad! First off, if he tries anything I don’t approve of, I’ll introduce his testes to his tonsils. Second, no. I was was just screwing with his head.”

“Taylor, I’m your father. I’m quiet well aware that you can probably curb-stomp anyone on the east coast. However, you are now, and will always be, my Little Girl. Threatening any boys, or girls for that matter, who come sniffing around you is one of the few privileges I get to enjoy.”

“Anyways, I was thinking that maybe tomorrow we could go out and do some window shopping or the like. Just you know, hang out.”

“So, you aren’t too cool to be seen with your Old Man?”

The teenager smiled, “Nope. Not now, not ever.”

&*&

Monday had Taylor even more grateful for the relaxation of the weekend. She’d shown up at the PRT at eight in the morning; bright eyed and bushy tailed, much to the disgust of the troopers who greeted her.

One of them glared, “And how are you so chipper this morning?”

She smiled evilly, “One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and a two mile jog. Translation: I’ve been up for hours.”

The trooper smiled, shook their head, and said something very rude that made Taylor’s smile widen slightly. Things had gone down hill rapidly from there.

The morning had been given over to placement exams for Arcadia to figure out ‘where she was academically’.

It was just after noon when she finished the last of the exams, “Fucking finally!” She grinned evilly as she saw the surprise the sheer vitriol in her voice had awoken in the PRT agent who was monitoring her.

The agent, a woman in her mid-thirties, asked, “Do I want to know?”

“I passed my GED already. These… things are just making me go over old ground.” She stood up and stretched for a moment, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a very important date I have to go make.”

The agent stood up quickly, “Hold up.”

Taylor was only wearing a domino mask and the harsh glare she gave the trooper was painfully obvious and had the woman holding up her hands in a placating gesture and taking a step back.

“I’m assigned to you for the time being. Where you go, I go. If I know where you want to go, I can guide you there more easily.”

The young woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments, she opened them and smiled, “Sorry. I tend to get a bit… touchy when it seems that people are getting pushy.”

“So, mind my manners, got it,” she said with a smile.

Taylor grinned wryly, “I hate to say it, but that might be the best idea. Anyways, I’m going to head to the gym.”

The agent nodded sagely, “Ah, paperwork-rage. I know it well. Com’on,” she finished with a grin. She led the teenager out of the small room and into the hallway. “Most of us have to deal with the same problem actually. Many hours of writing routine reports, most of which will never get read and will simply end up archived. Frustration means many of us go in for Heavy Bag Therapy.”

The two women laughed for a second before they lapsed into companionable silence.

A/N: Until Next Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, Read and Review.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, short for how long you've had to wait but still...

The next day, Emily Piggot looked at the group assembled before her. The previous afternoon and evening their newest recruit, Guyver, had gone through comprehensive power testing and the meeting was to go over the results. Armsmaster was present in his capacity as head of the Protectorate; Miss Militia’s presence was due to her being in charge of the Wards specifically; and Battery had overseen the testing itself. Assault had simply shown up with his wife and ignored several pointed hints that his presence was unwelcome. She’d considered simply ordering him out but…

Ethan, AKA Assault, sat at the table and yet again thanked the universe for his powers. Without them, he’d never have met the most perfect woman in the world, he’d certainly never have fallen in love with her nor married her. However, at that particular moment in time, he was grateful to his powers because with as hard as Sam was squeezing his hand, she might well have broken bones otherwise.

Even across the table Emily could see how hard Battery was squeezing Assault’s hand. She mentally nodded, “Alright, so let’s get started. Battery, what’s the preliminary assessment of Guyver’s powers?”

Samantha licked her lips and glanced down at the folder full of pictures before she said, “The short version is this: do not piss her off.” There were blinks around the table that she let clear before she continued. “Starting at the low end, she’s rated as a Thinker Four,” she said before she handed out a photo of Guyver in full armor. “You’ll note the ‘orbs’ on the sides of her head. They give her the next best thing to full seven-twenty degree spacial awareness. In addition, she seems to have some sort of Danger Sense, both in and out of armor.” A moment later she continued, “In addition, she’s classed as a Mover Three for full self-powered flight. She has an ability to manipulate gravity, the offensive manifestation is what she used to put Lung down. As a side-effect, it allows her to fly. She hasn’t figured out a Shaker version of the same power yet.” She sighed and squeezed her husband’s hand yet again before saying, “Now, for the scary parts. She’s got two separate Blaster powers.” She held out another set of photo’s, “The lesser of the two is what appears to be an infrared laser. The ‘laser’ punched a six inch deep hole in the solid steel cube we use for testing purposes.”

Around the table, there was more than one in-drawn breath.

“Doctor Langtry thinks the beam is slightly out of phase with our dimension, which is one of the reasons why it got such penetration.” She took a deep breath, “The other power, the gravity based one, which she referred to both as the Grav Cannon and the Pressure Cannon, blew straight through the three foot thick steel cube while leaving a hole a solid eight inches across.”

Once more, Armsmaster, Miss Militia, and Emily Piggot blinked, momentarily stunned.

Battery noted, “There’s also a note that she’d tentatively tagged as a Trump. Guyver’s of the opinion that if someone tried to Master her, the armors awareness would kick in and stop them. We aren’t about to test that however.”

Armsmaster frowned, “And why is that?”

“Guyver maintains the assertation that her armor is a ‘war machine’. She’s fairly certain that any such attempt to Master her would end… badly for the would be Master. Fatally badly.”

“So if someone tried, she’d likely try to kill them?”

Battery couldn’t help herself, she snorted. “I don’t think there’d be much ‘try’ in it. If she’s right, then the unconscious response is lethal force.”

Piggot nodded, “Alright, make a note in her file, but we aren’t going to try and point her at any potential Masters.” She finished with a sharp look at Armsmaster who looked fairly offended and she forced herself to admit that, glory hound or not, she was likely doing the man a disservice.

“And now,” Battery said with a sigh, “for the elephant in the room. In armor, Guyver’s rated as a Brute Eight with an asterisk. That asterisk,” she said at the blank looks she was getting, “is because Eight is the highest we can test for but Doctor Langtry and his staff are relatively certain that it’s even higher. Nothing in the testing could even scratch her armor, never mind hurt her; not even through simple kinetic transfer.” She reached down for the second prop she’d brought with her.

Emily blinked with Battery put a steel sphere on the table. It was six inches across and it had grooves in it consistent with a…

“Yes, Guyver simply grabbed that, flexed her hand twice, and squeezed down on it,” Sam said. “Again, according to her, she has a lot of physical strength in reserve, but it takes conscious effort on her part to activate it.”

It was Miss Militia who broke the silence that followed, “Alright, so yes, not angering her is apparently very high on the priority list.”

The director could feel her stomach try to drop out of her, “And to make matters worse, she’s already admitted that she has a hard time staying non-lethal.”

Sam cleared her throat, “It might not be as bad as it would appear. Guyver has said, repeatedly, that she doesn’t want to kill anyone.”

Piggot nodded, “Alright, so how do we help keep her on the straight and narrow?”

&*&

Down in the gym, Shadow Stalker and Vista were watching Guyver’s ‘assessment’ in hand-to-hand combat.

Taylor was out of armor as she sparred with the three guys they’d sent to test her unarmed combat skills. She ducked under one guy’s haymaker and exploded upwards, straightening him up and snapping his head back as her fist caught the point of his chin. He was unconscious long before his body hit the mat. She took a deep breath as she mentally stepped back from the precipice. He’d been the last one still standing, the other two were already on the ground; one moaning as he wrapped his arms around his stomach to keep from clutching his crotch and the other was simply unconscious.

Shadow Stalker and Vista had both been watching the assessment 

Sophia saw the light of Battle slowly fading from Hebert’s eyes and was more and more grateful that she hadn’t tried anything stupid with her. The three guys she’d just taken out were the one who taught unarmed combat.

Taylor closed her eyes and took a deep breath that helped her mentally finish putting The Guyver away. She smiled wanly as she opened her eyes and looked over to the third observer.

Sergeant Damine Shultz looked at the newest Ward and frowned, “You’ve had a bit of training. None of the Eastern stuff either.” He arched an eyebrow at her.

Taylor’s smile morphed into a half-grin, “I might be acquainted with Gunny Howell. He helped me with a few of the tricks he picked up during his time in the Corp.”

Shultz nodded, “Alright, so you appear to be in the worst zone for a Hero. You aren’t having to think about the moves, which is good. On the other hand, I saw you hesitate several times when you were starting into a move that could have killed your target.” He nodded, “It won’t be too hard to put the needed polish on your skills. Do you see any complications?”

“One,” the young woman said promptly. “I have a killers instincts. I’m able to go for disabling blows by force of will, but…”

The man nodded again, “Not something we haven’t dealt with before.” He smiled, “If that’s the only major hangup, then you’re going to be well ahead of the curve.”

Taylor nodded, but didn’t correct his blithe assumption about how easy she would be to train.


	10. Chaper 10

There was a small bandage on Taylor’s hand from where she’d split a knuckle with the final uppercut during her unarmed combat assessment as she walked nervously into the den of Satan’s Lesser Minions… erm, the Public Relations department. She was wearing her personal ‘uniform’ of a black muscle shirt and jeans along with very functional combat boots along with a domino mask under her glasses. She found the door marked ‘Gerard Richardson’ and rapped smartly on it.

“Come in,” came in a pleasant tenor.

Taylor entered the office slowly, her eyes scanning the room for threats without conscious thought.

Gerard was a man of average height, light brown hair that he kept corporate appropriate length, brown eyes that shimmered with good humor. He was of average appearance but his seeming good humor made that irrelevant. “Ah, Ms. Guyver, right on time,” he said with a broad smile. “I’m Gerard Richardson, the head of the PR department for the PRT-ENE.”

Taylor took the proffered hand and couldn't restrain the answering smile. “And I’m Guyver, your newest headache.”

The man chuckled as he waved at the visitors seat, “Please, have a seat.” He sat down and picked up a manila folder that he handed to his guest, “I’ve done some preliminary sketches. Someone one messed up your paperwork and had you marked as a Changer when you’re very obviously a Tinker.”

She took the folder and opened it up. She looked at the first sketch and froze. It looked like her armor. Or at least that’s how it had started out.

“I know that most Tinkers are reluctant to…”

“Hold it!” Taylor closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her temper. Her eyes were hard when she opened them.

Gerard licked his lips as he said, “Is there a problem Guyver?”

“Yes; two in point of fact,” she said in a voice that was as hard as her armor. “First, that was not a mistake. I am a Changer, not a Tinker. Second, even if I was, I would not be willing to wear this…,” she took a deep breath as she cut off what she really wanted to call it. She held up the sketch.

The armor was barely recognizable.

The man winced, he’d done everything he could to demilitarize the appearance of the armor and make it more Family Friendly. However… “Alright, apparently I was mistaken.” He calmly took the folder from his visitor and dropped it into the bin. “So, if you’re a Changer, I’m not sure how much help I can be since you really don’t need a costume per say.”

The teenager shook her head, “On the contrary.” She smiled at his confused expression. “My armor is too powerful for regular usage. Therefore, I am in need of a costume for daily usage.”

Gerard nodded and pulled out a pen while opening his notebook, “Alright, so, do you have any initial thoughts?”

“First and foremost,” the young woman said with a stern look, “is the requirement that it be practical! I need to be able to move and fight in it.”

“You are aware that the PRT does its dead level best to keep the Wards away from combat, correct?”

“I am,” she replied. “Despite that, this is still Brockton fucking Bay, the shit hole of the Eastern Seaboard.”

Despite her language, the man couldn't contain the snort of amusement at her description of the city.

“Given that I can’t be sure to avoid combat period, let alone in this town, I need to be ready for it if need be.” She smiled, “I don’t object to it looking pretty or,” sh shuddered slightly, “Family Friendly.

Gerard chuckled, “Don’t worry. I’m going to take your reaction to the concept drawings to heart. You aren’t the effeminate type, so I’ll stay away from the color pink like it was radioactive and I rather suspect that if I tried to put you in a skirt, you’d strangle me with it.” He smiled at his guest and she smiled right back. “Having said that, do you have any suggestions or requests?”

“I was thinking maybe taking a page from Vista’s book,” Taylor said. “Start with basic PRT clam shell armor for the torso, recolored of course, and work outwards from there.”

The man nodded, “Alright. I’ll need a few days to get my team generating ideas.”

The teen nodded in return, “That’s entirely reasonable. The next part is going to be a bit of a problem I’m afraid. While you’re at it, please make sure to include a few weapons.”

Gerard frowned, “We generally try to present the Wards as more Family Friendly. The only reason we really let Shadow Stalker keep her crossbow is that it was already a part of her Persona Heroic. Besides, your armor is a weapon onto itself, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is, but that’s part of the problem. Have you seen my Power Ratings?”

“Not really,” he hedged.

“I’m rated as a Brute Eight. If I hit a normal human with a punch, I could kill him accidentally. I’d really like to have options between Unarmed and Nuclear, which is what my armor is.”

The man went pale, “Okay… I can see that.” He licked his lips, even gladder that she didn’t appear to be the type to hold a grudge.

“I was thinking maybe a collapsible baton, maybe a stun gun of some sort.”

“So things that are generally non-lethal,” he said with a grin, his color slowly returning.

“If things escalate to the point where I’m thinking about lethal force,” Taylor said with a frown, “I’ll have gone for my armor long since.”

Gerard blinked, but then nodded, “Alright that makes sense.” Then he frowned, “This is going to be more of a challenge than I was hoping.” At her confused look, he gave Guyver a half-smile, “Developing a Persona for you is going to be difficult. On one hand, yes, we want you friendly and approachable. On the other, well…”

“On the other, I blew Lung’s guts out in a one-on-one fight.”

The man blinked again, “Say what?”

Taylor cocked her head, “You mean you haven’t seen the video?”

He shook his head slowly.

The young woman nodded towards his computer, “It’s on MeTube. Search for Lung Taken Down.”

Gerard quickly woke his computer up, logged into the system and was quickly watching the shaky video clip. He was pale as the video ended. “Alright, well,” he cleared his throat. “That’ll complicate the Friendly aspects, though we could mitigate that. It’s too bad that Christmas is already past. The Marines are widely acknowledged as Bad Asses, but their Toys For Tots drive makes them almost universally beloved.”

Taylor blinked but nodded, “Good point.”

The man shrugged, “Well, past is past. We’ll have to see what comes up.” He arched an eyebrow when his guest cocked her head to the side, “Yes?”

“I’m sorry,” Taylor said, “it’s just that you’re being a lot more reasonable that I expected from listening to the other Wards.”

Gerard smiled, “Many of my colleagues forget is that we’re supposed to work with what we have rather than try to force you to conform. Another part is simple communications. You’ve told me point blank what your hard limits are, where you’re willing to compromise, and where I’ve got basically free reign. This makes it a lot easier for me to avoid stepping on your toes. You’ve also told me the reasons for where you’re less-than-willing to compromise and raised more than one perfectly valid point.” His smiled widened, “So, how about you come back next Monday, around… four in the afternoon and we’ll try and hash things out further?”

Taylor nodded as she stood up and held out her hand, “Sounds like a plan.”

&*&

Up in the Wards Gym, Sophia was wailing away on the punching bag. She was sweat soaked and breathing hard when she finally let her arms fall to her side and leaned her head against the slightly swaying bag. “I can’t find Hebert attractive,” she thought to herself for at least the hundredth time that day. Despite herself, she could still remember the dream from the previous night.

She was naked on her back, Taylor was also naked and standing over her, her foot on Sophia’s neck. The white girl pressed down slightly, briefly choking Sophia, before she lifted her foot up and stepped to straddle Sophia’s face.

Sophia watched silently as Hebert’s butt settled over her face, her mouth less than an inch from Taylor’s asshole.

“Go ahead and lick it,” Taylor sneered as she reached out and grabbed Sophia’s nipples.

She hissed as sharp fingernails dug into the sensitive nubs before she stuck out her tongue and…

With a growl, Sophia reeled back and hit the bag again. She had a damned problem and for once, she didn’t have a clue as to what do do. She damned sure couldn't talk to Emma about it, or Madison for that matter. She sighed as she tried to think of anyone she could talk to then winced as two names suggested themselves to her. Either one was going to be embarrassing as all fuck.

&*&

Miss Militia was in her office with Aegis seated across from her. “So,” she said, “you’ve had a chance to start to get to know Guyver. Thoughts?”

“She’s… pleasant actually,” the swarthy skinned young man said with a grin. “Somehow, and I’d dearly love to know how, she’s gotten Shadow Stalker to get along with Vista. You know better than I do how much those two dislike each other.”

The woman nodded encouragingly.

“She’s got a wicked sense of humor as well,” he added with a grin as he remembered her counter-prank. “Having said that though, according to Gallant, she’s still very people shy.”

Miss Militia frowned behind her mask, “She mentioned being bullied for over a year.”

The young man nodded his understanding. “She’s uncomfortable being the center of attention. We’re going to have to be careful with her public appearances for a while. Basically, we’re going to have to treat her a lot like we treated Gallant when he first joined, if for different reasons.”

The woman made a note on the pad of paper in front of her. “Anything else?”

“Just that I think we should avoid making her feel trapped. Not trapped in the Wards, but rather in general. If she feels cornered or like she’s trapped well…”

The older woman nodded, “Having someone with her abilities having a panic attack would be very, very bad.”


End file.
